Read poet, med student and Love InshAllah contributor Suzanne Syeda Shah’s poem on love, estrangement and new beginnings Letter to My Mother i. twenty seven i return to the house at the corner I grew up in weeds too high to mow down next to the papaya tree waits abbu’s gray toyota pickup he’s dead for eight years i wanted to step through the front door right foot first always you taught me the way of the Prophet. Read the... Read more
What a lovely way to start the weekend! Originally spotted at Upworthy and is based on the Holstee Manifesto. “This is your life. Do what you want and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. If you don’t like your job, quit. If you don’t have enough time, stop watching TV. If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love. Stop over-analysing,... Read more
I think I scared my daughter. Hell, I think I terrified her. When I heard the Zimmerman verdict, I lost it. I yelled the “F” word, then obliterated two of the milk crates my daughter uses to store toys. The strength of my reaction frightened me. I was hit with a rush of memories of Black men taken from this world. Some of them I didn’t know (Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant III, James Byrd); some of them I did (Gordon Arias,... Read more
I met my husband when I had already given up on love. Our first date was the day after Christmas in 2008 at a small Greek restaurant in San Francisco. It was a blind date. We’d been set up by a mutual friend who thought we would be perfect together: he was Indian, I was Indian; he was divorced (had been for ten years), I was divorced (had been for seven years); and we both had sons from our previous... Read more
InshAllah someday, someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else. Read more
Ashoke Ganguli: There is something I always wanted to ask you, but never had the courage. All those years ago, why did you say yes to me? Ashima A. Ganguli: You were the best of the lot. Ashoke Ganguli: Huh? Ashima A. Ganguli: Better than the widower with four children or the cartoonist with one arm. I also liked your shoes. Ashoke Ganguli: Oh. Oh, okay. Ashima A. Ganguli: Hmm, you want me to say “I love you,” like the... Read more
Kids Who Die By Langston Hughes This is for the kids who die, Black and white, For kids will die certainly. The old and rich will live on awhile, As always, Eating blood and gold, Letting kids die. Kids will die in the swamps of Mississippi Organizing sharecroppers Kids will die in the streets of Chicago Organizing workers Kids will die in the orange groves of California Telling others to get together Whites and Filipinos, Negroes and Mexicans, All kinds... Read more
Time after time, activist and leader Malala Yousufzai has refused to be silenced. Today, she will mark her 16th birthday by delivering the first-ever education policy recommendations written for youth, by youth, to the United Nations in New York City. Add your voice to the chorus by signing Malala’s petition calling for universal education for all children by 2015. Happy birthday, Malala. Thank you for your courage and voice in bringing global attention to the struggles of the 57 million... Read more
Dear Love, InshAllah, I find myself in a hard situation with a Muslim man I love. I write because I don’t have resources within the Muslim community and would love that perspective. I am not a Muslim woman though I have much respect for the faith. For the past 9 months or so I have been dating a dear man from Libya who is here for school on a scholarship. From the beginning it has been clear that there are... Read more
1. A Lesson on Repentance, Mercy, and Compassion I know a man who is a convicted felon. We will call him Mr. Z. He is the only felon I know. I rarely hang with that particular crowd. Mr. Z did four years in a medium security prison. When the cell door slammed, the hard clap of steel on steel was oddly comforting, he told me. He desired a reprieve from the monstrous crime he had committed and a release from... Read more
Love, InshAllah
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In